How soon to upgrade?

I moved to a new west coast city area about four months ago, taking a job at a tiny suburban paper because I needed a job up here and they were the only ones who had an opening. Don't want to give too many details about where I'm at, other than it's a good newspaper town and a very nice place to live.

I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I love the paper – even though I was hired on to do news, they let me cover prep sports within my 40 hours, leave me alone to do my job the rest of the time, great atmosphere – but the pay is rough and, thanks to a series of unfortunate accidents involving staff and family, the health insurance rates are abysmal. I haven't been able to latch on as a stringer at the AP bureau here, either, so my planned-on supplementary income that I had back in Vegas is kaput.
The other problem is I'm fairly insulated out in the 'burbs. I occasionally have contact with the beat writer from the city's major daily, but not nearly often enough to figure out who's who and what's what in that establishment.

So, I'm wondering how long I should wait before I should be contacting other media in the city looking for a job? Six months? A year? And who to contact? The big paper's recruiting manager? Section editors? Other suburban weeklies?

I moved to a new west coast city area about four months ago, taking a job at a tiny suburban paper because I needed a job up here and they were the only ones who had an opening. Don't want to give too many details about where I'm at, other than it's a good newspaper town and a very nice place to live.

I've been pleasantly surprised by how much I love the paper – even though I was hired on to do news, they let me cover prep sports within my 40 hours, leave me alone to do my job the rest of the time, great atmosphere – but the pay is rough and, thanks to a series of unfortunate accidents involving staff and family, the health insurance rates are abysmal. I haven't been able to latch on as a stringer at the AP bureau here, either, so my planned-on supplementary income that I had back in Vegas is kaput.

The other problem is I'm fairly insulated out in the 'burbs. I occasionally have contact with the beat writer from the city's major daily, but not nearly often enough to figure out who's who and what's what in that establishment.

So, I'm wondering how long I should wait before I should be contacting other media in the city looking for a job? Six months? A year? And who to contact? The big paper's recruiting manager? Section editors? Other suburban weeklies?

Click to expand...

Let me get this straight, you love the paper, you were hired for news but they let you cover sports, and it's a great atmosphere but you're looking to get out?

My advice to find something else for that supplemental income.
If you love the paper and it's a great atmosphere why look to leave? Happiness at a job is a big factor.
If you start looking elsewhere and your editors/management catch wind of it, then your job situation could change where you are now.
Then again, I'm speaking as someone who has spent the last 18 years at the same paper because I like the paper, I like the community, and the fact that I have a 15-20 minute commute into the office.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, EStreet. My biggest worry is the paper's structure. I'd just feel better at a shop that's throwing 2 million papers a week than at a shop that's throwing 20,000 a week.

Thanks for the thoughtful reply, EStreet. My biggest worry is the paper's structure. I'd just feel better at a shop that's throwing 2 million papers a week than at a shop that's throwing 20,000 a week.

Click to expand...

Tierra, wish I knew what to tell you, but as I said I've been at the same paper for a long time. I'll leave the advice for how long to wait to those younger than myself who have changed papers several times.

I think that "upgrading" has to be a personal decision - you'll know it when you've exhausted your opportunities at a paper, or in an area...

I had a professor in college tell me to start looking for job No. 2 as soon as I got No. 1. i think that's probably a little rushed...

I think in similar thread on here a while back, somebody said that you should go into a job with the mindframe that you'll be there two years... that way you can get settled your first year, and the second one, you can improve upon the way you do things...

that being said, I think its very much a personal choice... if you're restless, get the hell out. But make sure the grass really is greener...

First off let me start by saying I'm in my first job. But I think there are several factors involved with this. Someone else said that two years is a good time frame, I agree but I also don't think that you should be a tag on it necessarily, it's when you think you're ready. But age is definitely a factor in where you can go, in my brief history in the business I've come to the conclusion that people over about 30 are more likely to stay in the area that they are at, while younger people are happy to move around to hopefully climb up the latter faster. Next it depends on family, do you have kids? Significant other? That is big factor because then you're not just thinking of yourself. And now that newspapers are pretty much one per city, it's not as easy to get in to other papers in the same town so if you limit yourself to one town or even one state you are limiting your options.
So on that note, that is why even with a family I am open to moving around and getting as many opportunities as I can.